A new video player for Wikimedia wikis: Plus, Growth Features configuration, the Hackathon, and more
The software to play video and audio files on pages has now changed on all Wikimedia wikis. The old player has been removed and replaced with Video.js. Some audio players will become wider after this change. The new player has been a beta feature for over four years, and uses best practices. For more information, see Tech News.
Over the past four years, the Growth team at the Wikimedia Foundation has developed Growth features, a set of tools that make contributing easier for newcomers. As contributors start editing Wikipedia, they need to learn how the wikis and the community work. These features nudge them to spend time on tasks important to their community. They also make connections through mentorship systems that allow for direct, 1-on-1 contact with an experienced community member. On 26 April 2022, the team also announced a new configuration system, allowing communities to alter the settings of their Growth Features installation.
A policy for MediaWiki gadgets and user scripts is being drafted. Previously, these tools were ill-defined, leading to misunderstandings between engineers and wiki-based code developers when wiki-based code breaks. This also leads to code rot, where developers do not feel empowered to make changes as it's unclear how their changes will impact wiki-based code developers. On top of this, when wiki-based code breaks it's not clear who can and will fix it. Together, a policy is being drafted that has the goal of working for Wikimedia staff, volunteer contributors (on Gerrit and Github), and wiki-based code developers, to lead to a better experience for all parties and try to restore trust and good faith between them. Community input is welcome on the talk page.
The 2022 Wikimedia Hackathon was held as a hybrid event from May 20-22. An online, game-style space was utilized, and 11 local meetups were conducted with the help of community grants. 117 participants signed up, participating in sessions on a variety of topics including infrastructure, localization, Python, Wikibase, and community-building. The next Wikimedia technical event is the Wikimania Hackathon, scheduled for August 11-14, 2022.
A version of the Real Time Preview project has been launched on the Polish Wikipedia by the Community Tech team at the Wikimedia Foundation. The team is working on soliciting community feedback in order to improve the issue. They have decided to roll it out as a Beta Feature before they release the feature to everyone, due to the high-impact environment. This will allow them to collect feedback and make improvements before they release it to everyone. Feedback is welcome on the project's talk page.
Due to the use of nonoptimal workarounds, some very old browsers and operating systems are no longer supported (see Tech News). Some things on the wikis might look weird or not work in very old browsers, like Internet Explorer 9 or 10, Android 4, or Firefox 38 or older. This change follows the MediaWiki compatibility guidelines.
Bots that have been approved for operations after a successful BRFA will be listed here for informational purposes. No other approval action is required for these bots. Recently approved requests can be found here (edit), while old requests can be found in the archives.
| Bot Name | Status | Created | Last editor | Date/Time | Last BAG editor | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ScannerBot (T|C|B|F) | Open: BAG assistance requested! | 2022-05-05, 01:48:28 | 0xDeadbeef | 2022-05-28, 07:43:47 | Headbomb | 2022-05-17, 10:24:23 |
| ButlerBlogBot (T|C|B|F) | On hold | 2022-03-07, 14:03:04 | Primefac | 2022-03-10, 10:29:19 | Primefac | 2022-03-10, 10:29:19 |
| ZabesBot (T|C|B|F) | On hold | 2022-01-15, 22:43:07 | Zabe | 2022-05-14, 11:56:56 | Primefac | 2022-02-16, 12:39:30 |
| DoggoBot 7 (T|C|B|F) | In trial | 2022-04-03, 22:49:12 | EpicPupper | 2022-05-18, 15:24:21 | Primefac | 2022-05-07, 14:53:51 |
| GalliumBot (T|C|B|F) | In trial | 2022-04-29, 04:02:58 | Theleekycauldron | 2022-05-18, 19:16:10 | Primefac | 2022-05-07, 14:51:13 |
| BareRefBot (T|C|B|F) | Extended trial | 2022-01-20, 21:37:46 | Rlink2 | 2022-05-04, 12:29:37 | Primefac | 2022-03-28, 18:32:02 |
| AssumptionBot (T|C|B|F) | In trial | 2022-02-16, 11:35:09 | AssumeGoodWraith | 2022-04-10, 03:23:38 | Primefac | 2022-03-27, 12:37:16 |
| Qwerfjkl (bot) 12 (T|C|B|F) | Trial complete | 2022-05-14, 09:13:42 | Qwerfjkl | 2022-05-26, 14:53:36 | Primefac | 2022-05-26, 14:31:27 |
| BattyBot 67 (T|C|B|F) | Trial complete | 2022-05-24, 04:14:48 | GoingBatty | 2022-05-24, 19:33:32 | Primefac | 2022-05-24, 08:22:29 |
Latest tech news from the Wikimedia technical community: 2022 #21, #20, & #19. Please tell other users about these changes. Not all changes will affect you. Translations are available on Meta.
The Wikimedia Enterprise project team welcomes conversations via Zoom on June 9 at 17:00 UTC.
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Discuss this story
The new video player is no small thing. It makes embedding Wikimedia-hosted media outside our wiki-centric ecosystem so much more reliable and, as noted on the project page, it now works on mobile devices. Over a decade since rectangular slates of glass have become the most popular way folks access the internet. That's huge! Ckoerner (talk) 18:45, 1 June 2022 (UTC)[reply]